A Brief Introduction to Beijing Opera

When it comes to the origin of Beijing Opera, we should first talk about Anhui Opera (Anhui-style Opera). Anhui Opera was performed by Anhui troupes sponsored by merchants from Anhui province, concentrating mostly in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces with Yangzhou city as the center. Anhui Opera required the actors to be capable of both acting and fighting, namely be good at singing, recitative(the dialogue with musical effect), acting (the body movements with dancing effect), and acrobatic fighting (martial art and acrobatics).

Different roles in Anhui Opera boast their styles and respective techniques, among which Dan (the female role) once enchanted the audience with unpredictable fingering dexterity in an early stage while dazzling the audience with skillful sleeve movements in the mid and late-stage; Jing (the male role with strong personality and outstanding look) expressed the character's coarse and rough anger by putting up his hands over his head when first appearing on the stage as if he was lifting a heavyweight, splaying his lingers like a tiger paw, and vocalizing his voice like the rolling thunder as well as stamping his feet. To meet different tastes of the audience at various strata and indifferent regions, the performing artists of Anhui Opera traveled a lot and gradually fostered an open mind to widely combine different art styles, thus developed Anhui Opera to be much more vigorous than other local operas.

Emperor Qianlong (reign from 1736 - 1795) was the emperor of the Qing Dynasty who enjoyed the longest life and reign in Chinese history. Once upon a time. Emperor Qianlong, in plain clothes, went on a private visit to the plain areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, i.e. where is now also called ’’Jiang Nan" (South of the Yangtze River). On his way, the Emperor saw a performance of Anhui melody shown in Anqing area (a well-known port city along the Yangtze River), and appreciated it very much. In 1790, during the 80th-year birthday celebration for Emperor Qianlong, a Huizhou salt-business tycoon from Yangzhou (a famous historic and cultural city in China located in mid-Jiangsu Province) organized an Anhui troupe named Sanqing which was led by the most well-known performing artist Gao Langting to come to perform in the capital city Beijing to celebrate the Emperor's birthday.

Since Sanqing Troupe was joined by many artists with high singing skills, it won a complete success in the birthday celebration performance. Among the actors, the troupe leader Gao Langting, a 16-year-old young man, was most outstanding. He. as a man, staged the role of Dan successfully. Each act and move, each smile and look were expressed in an artistical and charming manner just like a genuine female. His skillful and charming performance was greatly appreciated by the audience. The successful performance of Sanqing Troupe in Beijing made a solid foundation for Anhui Opera and unveiled the prelude for the emergence of Beijing Opera.

From the mid-Ming Dynasty, both Kunqu Opera, which was famous for many years, and Beijing Dialect Opera, which was popular at that time, declined gradually: and many actors of Kunqu Opera and other operas turned to join Anhui troupes. During the reign of Emperor Daoguang (1821 - 1850) of the Qing Dynasty, i.e. the Emperor, after Emperor Qianlong, Han Troupe, a local opera troupe from Hubei Province traveled to Beijing. The Han Opera artists joined in Anhui troupe and performed singing with their style, which added more vigor to the opera stage in Beijing. Han Opera was good at singing and acting, and its melody was elegant. Its aria was sweet and agreeable, and its language was humorous. Han Opera was also simple and delicate. Anhui Opera and Han Opera went hand in hand to perform together on the same stage and complemented each other, laying a solid foundation for the formation of Beijing Opera.

From the 20th year of Emperor Daoguang's reign to the 10th year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1840 - 1860), a new opera style finally emerged, half a century after Anhui Opera and Han Opera merged, absorbing the roughness of Shaanxi Opera, the gracefulness of Kunqu Opera and the impressiveness of Beijing Opera and with strenuous efforts paid by nearly two generations of outstanding performers of many operas such as Anhui Opera, Han Opera, Beijing Dialect Opera, Shaanxi Opera and Kunqu Opera.

In 1876, Shanghai News first created the term"Beijing Opera." Soon after that, Beijing Opera was also called "Pi Huang," "Er Huang," "Jing Huang," "Jixi." and "Pingxi," etc. Foreign friends who are interested in Beijing Opera may read The Collection of Opera Schools and Repertoire in China to deepen their understanding of the colorful Beijing Opera of China.

Farewell My Concubine

In retrospect of nearly half a century of the history of an ancient oriental country, Farewell My Concubine, a movie shown in China in 1993, tells about sorrows and joys of the lives of two Beijing Opera performers. The film adopted an epic style with the profound connotation of oriental culture and was awarded the top award the Palme d'Or during Festival De Cannes in France in 1993, making it the only Chinese movie that earned such a special honor. The film was shown in many countries and regions all over the world and enjoyed an excellent reputation in the whole world.

Many foreign friends must have watched the film - Farewell My Concubine. and they would not only be deeply impressed by Cheng Dieyi, a character who regards acting like his whole life and fills his entire life with acting, but also be surprised to see diversified facial make-ups as well as the mystery of a male actor disguised in female attire in the opera. This is Beijing Opera, a genre that takes the top position among more than three hundred local operas throughout China in terms of plays, troupes, well-known actors, and audience as well as its influence. Nowadays, Beijing Opera, Chinese paintings, and traditional Chinese medicine have been honored as "Three Quintessential Cultures of China".